| Author | Message | ||
| 4truth Registered user Username: 4truth Post Number: 4 Registered: 2-2006 |
I'm a newer member of this forum but not a new former. I have been happily active in an evangelical Christian church for about 7 years. My dad, who is 77 years old, is in a hospital close to where he lives about a thousand miles away from where my family and I live. He had a heart attack on monday, and is not doing very well, as to complications from kidney problems, etc. I happened to mention on the phone that my church is praying for him in our prayer chain and his reply was in essence," I guess it doesn't hurt" and that a Catholic chaplin had even been there. I know it's not that he doesn't believe in God, as he has been devout SDA all his life. I guess it just makes me sad that he doesn't seem to recognize the church that I am so active in and love so much is even communicating with God, I guess. I am just dissapointed, I suppose. I just had to get this off my chest to people who might understand. I'm not looking for sympathy, just letting my feelings out. Rick | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3658 Registered: 12-2003  |
Rick, I do understand how you feel; many here, I'm sure, also understand. It's especially hard to have that response when you can't see him and you know his life is tenuous. It feels so unresolved--like you haven't received the blessing a son is supposed to receive from a father. God will hold your heart... With prayers for you and your father, Colleen | ||
| Chris Registered user Username: Chris Post Number: 1195 Registered: 7-2003  |
Rick, I understand completely. We've had many similar responses from our family. It is disappointing and sad, but I guess we just need to leave it in God's hands and keep praying. Chris | ||
| Dd Registered user Username: Dd Post Number: 656 Registered: 7-2004 |
Rick, I am another who can completely understand your frustration, disappointment (again!), anger, sorrow... It's times like these that we have to look fully to Jesus. It's the only way to find comfort. I praise God for providing FAF for those of us on this journey together. Denise | ||
| Freeatlast Registered user Username: Freeatlast Post Number: 471 Registered: 5-2002 |
Rick, we get it. And God got your prayers. May He draw near to you and bless you as you endure this difficult time. | ||
| Mrsbrian3 Registered user Username: Mrsbrian3 Post Number: 41 Registered: 8-2005 |
Rick, I, too, unfortunately, completely understand. Just recently when I was telling my mom ... once again ... about how much prayer was involved when we made the decision to leave the SDA church, she told me that I had better be sure who I was praying to. It was like a dagger to the heart. I guess I just thought that my family would be different ... my friends would be different ... they would understand ... they would support ... but, alas, they are not, they do not. But God is so good and Jesus gave up way more than the temporary approval of His family so that I could be a permanent part of His. That makes it bearable. Kim | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 2420 Registered: 3-2004  |
Rick, I cannot say I understand because I have not been in a situation anywhere similar to yours. BUT I can pray for you and your Father. He is precious to you and you love him so much. So I will pray. Let us know more about yourself. Father in heaven, You are the Great Physician, the I AM and the Creator of the universe. Please come close to Rick and comfort him as he goes through this situation. Hold him in Your Awesome arms at this time. Go to his Father and let his Father know that Rick loves You. You know best how to deal with this situation and I know you will do what is best for all involved. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. Thank you for your everyday love and care for each of us. We love you God. Thank you for answering this prayer. In Jesus name. AMEN. Diana | ||
| 4truth Registered user Username: 4truth Post Number: 5 Registered: 2-2006 |
Thanks so much for your kind words and prayers. Thanks be to God,my dad has stabilized somewhat and is resting more comfortably. I hope he has another chance to come to know God's grace in a much fuller way. I will have to say when I visited them at Christmas, he supprised me by having a cup of coffee with me. Maybe there's hope yet! Thanks again for your kind thoughts and your prayers. Rick | ||
| Lori Registered user Username: Lori Post Number: 38 Registered: 11-1999 |
I understand where you are coming from Rick. And, I'm SO sorry!!! You don't need "approval" from your parents anymore but the insults they sling are a little too much. I was talking to my mother about something and telling her how wonderful God is and how he always provides for things (sometimes even before we know we need it) and what a blessing it was to see his handiwork!! Her reply: Well, we have to make sure our blessings are coming from the right source. Satan gives blessings, too. Oh, well........... | ||
| Honestwitness Registered user Username: Honestwitness Post Number: 57 Registered: 7-2005  |
Yes, this is kind of attitide is very sad. I struggled with listening to these depressing words for the entire 16 years I was in Adventism, especially because I never felt I had a good answer to them. I finally got angry enough to write out a response. This may not resolve this for any of you, but it sure made me feel better when I wrote down these words. _________________________________ I submit to you that no human being can possibly prove beyond a shadow of a doubt whether any supernatural blessing is authored by God or by Satan. Yes, we are warned of counterfeits, and yes, that warning should be taken seriously. But we have something more ominous of which to beware and that is committing the only unforgivable sin. Which is more dangerous: to be deceived or to be condemned to eternal death? Being deceived, even if it leads us into sin, can and will be forgiven. But the ultimate danger is committing the one, the only, unforgivable sin. Please consider this question. What if I claim that a blessing or an answer to prayer comes from God, and give Him all the glory for it, but find out, when I sit at Jesusí feet in heaven, that I was wrong. Because, you know, the only One who really knows the answer to that is God himself. What if God tells me it was really Satan who gave that blessing or answered that prayer? What have I lost? Nothing at all! God received the glory and the praise! I do not pity Satan that he did not! If Satan desires to give blessings and answer prayers to receive praise unto himself, I will not give him that satisfaction. He can perform all the supernatural healings and give all the blessings he wants, and I will give God the credit every single time! Praise be to God for His marvelous works! On the other hand, what if I claim that a supernatural healing, or blessing or answered prayer is authored by Satan, and give him the credit, but find out later that I was wrong. Because, you know, God it the only One who really knows. What if God tells me it was really He who authored the healing, gave that blessing or answered that prayer? What have I lost? Everything! Satan received the glory and praise for something God did! What a pity! But God has no pity on me for insisting it was not His loving work! The gravity of this offense is not to be diminished! Only a stony heart would seek to ascribe healings and miracles and answered prayers to the evil kingdom. I would rather glorify God for every good thing, than to be guilty of ascribing such things to the devil, and find out later they were really of God. (Message edited by honestwitness on April 01, 2006) | ||
| Raven Registered user Username: Raven Post Number: 409 Registered: 7-2004  |
Excellent post, Honestwitness! Isn't there a verse in Paul's writings that says to praise God and give thanks for everything, even tribulations? You're right, we can't know for sure what's going on in the supernatural, but since God is completely in control anyway--of course that's where or gratidue should be directed. This is kind of related to something I remember hearing often. If you're doing your best to keep the Sabbath, pay tithe, etc. then all blessings are from God and all tribulations are Satan attacking you. If you're careless with God's requirements (Sabbath, tithe, etc.), then any blessings are from Satan (to confuse you and make you think all is well) and tribulations are from God trying to get your attention. That's really not much different from the counsel of Job's friends. Of course I didn't hear it stated exactly like that. Instead it went more like this: Said to someone who is known to be an SDA "saint" when they're having a major problem: "Satan sure is trying hard, isn't he?" Said to someone who is known to be lax with their duty to keep the Sabbath and/or tithe when they're having a major problem: "Have you been tithing? God may just be trying wake you up and teach you something--you'd better listen." | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3669 Registered: 12-2003 |
Good points, Honestwitness and Raven! I also tire of hearing those not-so-subtle hints that we're responding to the wrong spirit. I confess I feel so outraged when those comments comeóit's one thing for them to say we're wrong, but to suggest that the Holy Spirit is really someone else is so offensive. I just have to bite my tongue. I realize that outrage is not a helpful response, and I admit it's pretty "fleshly". Sometimes I have to force myself just to be quiet and pray inside my head... Colleen | ||
| Seekr777 Registered user Username: Seekr777 Post Number: 463 Registered: 1-2003  |
Ahhh Colleen, the "old" be quiet and pray instead response. Been there and done that often.  Sometimes it is hard to listen the Holy Spirit and be obedient to His timeing. Richard rtruitt@mac.com | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 1011 Registered: 7-2004 |
I like the relative annonymity of the on-line environment. It is so much easier for me to bite my tongue in a face-to-face. On-line I become the mouse that roars! | ||
| Pheeki Registered user Username: Pheeki Post Number: 786 Registered: 1-2003 |
Satan is incapable of giving us anything good. He cannot bless us, he curses us. ALL good things come from God. Satan cannot answer a believers prayer...that is like saying he is more powerful than God. Ellen sure gave the devil his due...she gave him a lot of credit! | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3675 Registered: 12-2003 |
That's an interesting observation, PHeeki. And Belva, roar on!! Colleen | ||
| Patriar Registered user Username: Patriar Post Number: 245 Registered: 3-2005 |
4Truth: Your Dad will be in my prayers as will you. I pray that He will experience God in deep and immeasurable ways. Pheeki: For what it's worth, I agree. Satan can influence people to be 'wolves in sheep's clothing', but he has no power to 'bless' us. He can definitely cause things to happen that look like blessings. This is, I believe, where it becomes sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo incredibly important to KNOW THE TRUE THING. God is Good. Even if it doesn't feel good. We MUST know him to understand, on any level, His workings in our lives. I have recently heard a 'food for thought' story...here's a short version: There was once a church-going man who had a peach orchard. Just as those peaches were needing the warmth of spring, a huge frost came and killed all the peaches. The man quit going to church. His pastor noticed he'd not been at church and went to visit him. He said, "why aren't you coming to church?" The man answered, "because God allowed the frost that killed all my peaches." The preacher said, "My friend, yes, God knew that the frost would kill your peaches; and He knew that they would have done better without the frost. But God isn't interested in growing good peaches. He's interested in growing good men. Growing good men requires a frost now and then." (my paraphrase). While this fictitious story is about difficulty coming from God, the converse can be said about Satan. It is imperative to know Who God IS. That keeps our focus on Him and when our focus is on Him, sorrow becomes the background instead of the foreground. We won't always know where the 'rain' or 'sunshine' is coming from, but our focus will be in the right place. Sorry--this turned out to be a mini-sermon! ;) Patria | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3685 Registered: 12-2003 |
Patria, really good thoughts. Thank you. Colleen | ||
| Javagirl Registered user Username: Javagirl Post Number: 199 Registered: 6-2005 |
A friend who recently left a conservative Southern Baptist Church, based on her own spritual convictions and growing walk with God, sent me the following statement in an email. "You know how they always say "the church shoots their wounded", well it just hit me the other night that it also shoots it's maturing (at least in my experience)." Sadly, I have to agree in a lot of cases. | ||
| Pheeki Registered user Username: Pheeki Post Number: 787 Registered: 1-2003 |
What do you all make of this? http://www.everythingimportant.org/seventhdayAdventists/dupery.htm | ||
| Pheeki Registered user Username: Pheeki Post Number: 788 Registered: 1-2003 |
Here is the 7 Faces of SDAism that the guy mentioned above wrote, that upset everyone so badly in Richardson, Texas. I will refrain from making a judgment on him...not sure what to think of the guy. http://www.everythingimportant.org/viewtopic.php?t=1143 | ||
| Pheeki Registered user Username: Pheeki Post Number: 789 Registered: 1-2003 |
As I was reading the 7 Faces paper this guy wrote, I had feeling of intense gratitude came over me that I am no longer a part of that lunatic organization. I have never met so many people who are "over the edge" as I did as an SDA. One guy at my old church spent thousands of dollars sending out cassette tapes to the parishoners all about the time of trouble (some bizzare stuff...can't remember exactly). The pastor told him not to come back...but where there is one nut there is a tree full of them close by! Someone else will undoubtedly take up his cause. I also visited the revival sermons site...it saddened me. One guy over there isn't sure when the Holy Spirit is guiding him or not and everyone else is cautioning him not to be deceived...it's terrible. I know I can strongly feel without a doubt when the HS is speaking to me. Anyway, he is doubting the HS led him because he has given one woman bible studies for 2+ years on the "pillars" of SDAism and she refuses to accept one of them. Seems to me, if she has accepted Christ...move on to someone else and let the HS do His work in her...you don't gotta stick around and tell someone how to live...that's between her and the HS. I just don't get it. These SDA have to have everyone cookie cutter the same...no one can deviate. So what she hasn't accepted one pillar! | ||
| Pheeki Registered user Username: Pheeki Post Number: 790 Registered: 1-2003 |
http://www.revivalsermons.org/forums/index.php?topic=838.0 See link for thread on the Holy Spirit. |
